When it finally took hold, the Clippers responded with a punishing third quarter to take an 88-78 lead. And with it, control of their seventh win in a row.

But not without a few moments of concern.

Including a frightful final push in which the Hawks tied it at 107-107 with 1:33 remaining.

But Paul hit a running lay-up with 54 second left to make it 109-107 and the Clippers survived two missed free throws by Blake Griffin with 13 seconds left and three Atlanta possessions to tie it or take the lead.

Clearly, it was one of those nights.

Griffin continued his streak of commanding performances, scoring a team high 27 points to go along with nine rebounds.

And they needed every one of those points and rebounds to sneak past the lowly Hawks.

In the 82-game NBA marathon, these things are bound to happen.

The combination of the big win over the Lakers and the mediocrity and unfamiliarity of the Hawks didn’t help matters, of course, the poorly timed sequence concocting an almost predictable brew of apathy.

The result was the Clippers having to fight themselves as much as they did the Hawks, whose lack of talent was balanced out by an eagerness to snap a five-game losing streak and the Clippers erratic focus.

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And so behind 13 points from DeMarre Carroll and 11 from Paul Millsap the Hawks led throughout the first half and took a 58-57 lead into the third quarter.

Then stretched it to 65-59 lead early in the third period.

It meant a heavier than expected workload for Griffin and Paul, who have grown accustomed to short work nights against over-matched opponents.

But the Clippers had no one to blame but themselves, their lack of energy putting them into the predicament in the first place.

It wasn’t offense hurting the Clippers, they had balance with Griffin and Barnes and Jordan all scoring in double figures before the end of the first half and the shooting percentage well above 50 percent.

It was another story on he defensive end, with the Hawks managing a 53-percent shooting pace from the field and outworking the Clippers on the boards.

In other words, the two most affected areas when a dearth of focus is involved.

The effort picked up as the third quarter progressed, with the Clippers pulling even at 97-97 with 8:03 left in the quarter.

It wasn’t an ideal situation, but it left the Clippers in decent position from which to strike.

A short while later ,Griffin drove through the teeth of the Hawks defense for a layup and foul, resulting in a three-point play and a 70-67 lead.

Paul added a 3-point shot off an assist from Barnes, followed by a layup over Pero Antic and the Clippers led 75-70.

The Hawks misfired on their next three shots, Jordan sank a free throw and the lead was 76-70.

By the end of the quarter the Clippers pushed the advantage to double digits, then spent the final period fending off the feisty Hawks,

The Clippers weren’t happy, but at least they were in control.

On a sluggish night with all sorts of factors working against them, it was about the best they could ask for.